Valencia CF received a great and expectant welcome upon their arrival to Saudi Arabia

Alongside a group of expectant fans, local television channels shared the scenes live as the team landed in Riyadh

Valencia CF touched down in Riyadh as a Champions League side, with plenty of local media beaming the arrival of the team out live after their six-hour flight. The group, headed by club president Anil Murthy and general director Mateu Alemany, noticed the rather warm 37 degree temperature. The players had a relaxing flight and were welcomed by a group of fans after heading through passport control. They posed for photos before heading off to the Burj Rafal Hotel Kempinski, where they will stay ahead of Wednesday’s clash against Al-Nassr FC as part of the LaLiga World initiative.

KSA Sports interviewed club president Anil Murthy: “I am very happy to be here after we have been able to qualify for the Champions League after a year of very hard work. Today we’ve been able to see all of the first team coming here to Riyadh. We are very grateful for the invitation, when we received it we recalled the last time we visited here, we enjoyed it and played in a great game and the team are ready to show again to their fans that they are grateful to be here.”

Anil continued: “this year our fans, including those in Saudi Arabia, are going to see Valencia CF as one of the biggest clubs in Europe.” Andreas Pereira also spoke to the cameras, and similarly showed he was happy to be present ahead of a game which will be a testimonial for former Saudi international Fahad Al Hurifi. All of the first team’s available players have travelled with the squad, with only Francis Coquelin missing due to injury. Nemanja Maksimovic pulled out at the last minute and has been replaced by Gonzalo Villar.

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Photographs by Lázaro de la Peña, re-use is not permitted.